Andrew in Gotham
by Jake456
Summary: Bruce Wayne takes care of the Joker's latest victim.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own either BtVS, Batman or the DC Universe. 

Timeline: One and a half years after Sunnydale sank (Ignoring season 8) and 3-4 years after Barbra got paralyzed by the Joker. 

Warning: This chapter is a little dark. 

Chapter 1 

Andrew was moving through the streets of Gotham City looking for a Slayer that had been detected here and Kennedy didn't want to go to Gotham and so he went instead. Xander and Buffy had raised some complaints on his behalf stating that Gotham was far too dangerous for him, hell Buffy said that she wouldn't go there without at least _five_ trained slayers with her.

He moved through the downtown corridors and shuddered softly as this place was way scarier than Sunnydale. As he walked past people, his hands in his pockets, he felt a couple of snowflakes fall on his head and muttered, "Great, it's snowing."

As the gentle snowflakes began to fall gently towards the ground he walked under a lamp, his pale face illuminated by the orange light and he groaned, he knew this orange light was supposed to be brighter but he missed the old white lights.

Andrew smiled softly; it wasn't going that bad actually and he was almost sure that he'd make it out alive when he suddenly heard a gunshot and began to pick up his pace just to be sure until he suddenly saw a man in a purple suit and white face.

"Crap," he muttered as he recognized the man.

Now the Joker was having a horrible day; first Bats had stopped his little fun for the charity ball, it wasn't like he was going to kill all of them and now there was some little man in his way. He aimed the gun at him and smiled, "Hey kiddo, this is gonna be your _lucky_ day!" and chuckled insanely.

Andrew tried to run as the Joker grabbed him and said, "Don't run kiddo the fun's just beginning and the guest of honour is going to arrive if I know him."

The Joker hit Andrew hard on the head and tied him up and Andrew's fading thoughts was, 'Why does he have chains on him?' Andrew didn't even notice the Joker bringing out a knife until he felt a sharp stinging pain in his side and something warm flowing down his side, he screamed in pain and terror as the Joker laughed and said, "You scream nicely," as he stabbed again.

Batman arrived following the Joker's trail when he saw blood on the fresh snow; he looked up and saw a young man with fresh cut marks on him. He looked around angrily and saw the Joker laughing and said, "I needed something to get your attention."

He didn't even ask for a explanation because he knew there wouldn't be any, as he leapt towards the clown but the Joker started to run away and say, "Bats, he's not gonna live much longer; it's me or him."

As he ran off Batman growled, he couldn't leave anyone to die if he could help it, as he cut Andrew down and called an Ambulance.

The hospital didn't know who to call to notify Andrew's next of kin as Andrew lay in the hospital resting; the Joker was captured by Batman and placed in Arkham, yet again. Batman, as Bruce Wayne, visited the hospital to make sure the boy was alright.

Bruce inquired about him and found out that no one had come to visit him and he was still in a coma, the doctor informed him that he had suffered from immense shock and loss of blood.

"Will he be alright?" Bruce inquired.

"He'll be alright but he's not going to be able have full use of his legs again."

Bruce nodded and said, "I will pay for his treatment," and looked at Andrew and whispered, "Please forgive me for not stopping him sooner."

Andrew lay in the bed not knowing what was going on in the world outside and Bruce found himself visiting him to make sure everything was fine with him and that he was alright, he even had Andrew moved to the relative safety of Metropolis.

Five months after Andrew had been viciously attacked by the Joker he woke up confused as he didn't remember too much about what had happened to him, he looked outside and saw a glittering city and wondered, 'Where am I?'

A blonde woman came in and smiled at him gently and said, "Mr Wells, it's nice to see you awake."

"Umm, where am I?" Andrew asked confused, "And who are you?"

"I'm your nurse," she smiled gently at him again, calming him down and bringing him something to eat, he ate the food and looked back at her.

"I have to call the man who's been paying for your care," she said and walked off, leaving Andrew confused about what was going on.

Alfred Pennyworth was happy to hear about the fact the young man had awoken as Master Bruce had taken the injuries he had suffered rather personally.

Andrew was reading a book someone had brought him when the Nurse came in and said, "Mr Wells, your benefactor will be by shortly to help you."

"Oh, umm, thank you miss," Andrew said and watched her leave.

Three hours passed and Andrew was getting concerned and he had no idea where he was and was about to try to move when a well dressed man walked in, he looked at the man who looked at him.

"Hello Mr Wells, my name is Bruce Wayne; I've been paying for your treatment."

"Thank you sir," Andrew said, "Now can you tell me something?"

Bruce nodded and said, "Yes, anything at all Mr Wells."

"Who am I?" Andrew pleaded, "Everyone keeps calling me Mr Wells but I don't know if that's even my name."

Bruce excused himself and begun to think, 'Amnesia?' He looked at Andrew's body language and begun to ask things, with Andrew getting increasingly paranoid and agitated and he was more than satisfied that Andrew was telling the truth.

"Well Mr Wells, I cannot tell you much about yourself either," Bruce said truthfully, "There wasn't much information about yourself except for your name, which is Andrew Wells, other than that I don't know much."

Andrew looked at the mirror and screamed at the scar tissue on his face that had the shape of a J.

Bruce walked up and said, "It'll be alright."

"What happened to me?" Andrew screamed, "Who did this to me?"

Bruce sighed, "Andrew, his name is the Joker or at least that's all we know about his name; he is a sociopath plain and simple and you were one of his fortunate victims, you lived."

Andrew looked at the mirror, still horrified that his face had a massive scar on it, he touched it and started to sob and cried, "How is this fortunate? What else did he do to me?"

"I promise Andrew," Bruce said, "I shall do my best to make sure you have the best reconstructive surgery possible."

"Why do you care?" Andrew asked, "What's so special about me?"

"Because," Bruce said, "I make it a point to help any of his surviving victims and Andrew, you _are_ one of his few surviving victims."

Andrew nodded and Bruce said, "You will be coming home with me until we find out more about you, I think you should be somewhere safe."

"I, umm, don't want to put you out sir," Andrew said.

"You won't," Bruce said, "I promise," and he propped Andrew up and said, "I won't let you fall, I promise."

Andrew nodded and felt himself being carried; he didn't know anything about himself, other than his name and this guy was willing to help him, he'd trust him for now.

Bruce put Andrew on a wheelchair and reflected on why didn't he just kill the Joker and he realized that if he slipped down that road he'd become the Joker soon enough.

As Bruce rolled him out Andrew saw the nice nurse and waved good bye to her, she smiled and said, "Take care Andrew."

"Alright," Andrew said as she walked away.

"A friend?" Bruce asked.

"No, she was my nurse," Andrew said as he watched her leave, "She was nice to me."

Bruce turned around and caught up to her and said, "Thank you, it's going to be a long way for him to begin his recovery. May I ask your name?"

"Oh," she said with a smile, "It's Tara and I'm just a temp here, I'll be going home soon enough. Tell Andrew that I'll try to keep in touch," and walked away. 

TBC 

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	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Same as previous chapter. 

Chapter 2 

Andrew sighed as the plane took off, it seemed that his friend was supposedly wealthy, which seemed nice but the man he hardly smiled and he had his own private jet and it seemed nice.

As someone passed him a magazine he read silently and his eyes widened; Bruce Wayne was amongst the wealthiest people alive in the world though he had a bad reputation for being a lush who enjoyed hard drinks and women. He saw him on the phone with someone called Barbara and he was the picture of concern and civility.

Bruce walked into another cabin so not to disturb Andrew and said, "So Barbara, what were you saying?"

"This," Barbra yelled over the phone, "The Joker's crossed the line so many times he has to be stopped and you know the justice system isn't going to do it."

"I know Barbra," Bruce said, pinching his nose, "But if I hunted him down and killed him what would that make me?"

"A Hero!" Barbra said, the anger barely registering in her voice, "But I know you have your no killing rule and I suppose some people might take it the wrong way but not the Joker, he's done too much."

Bruce sighed and said, "Please Barbra, I know and perhaps you could help him too."

"Yes Bruce, bring him by soon. I mean he's going to want to have company other than Alfred, won't he?" Barbra said coldly.

"Yes," Bruce said softly, "Of course, please come by the Manor tonight; I'll make sure he's ready to meet you."

"I can't tonight," Barbra said, "Dick needs some help with some things in Bludhaven but tomorrow he'll have my undivided attention."

She hung up and Bruce walked out and saw Andrew still reading the magazine he had been given, Andrew looked up and Bruce frowned; he would make sure that his face was restored as those scars would just remind him of bad experiences.

"Andrew, a friend of mine is coming to meet you tomorrow, she's a survivor of the Joker as well and she might be able to help you."

"But," Andrew said, "I don't even remember the attack."

"I know Andrew," Bruce said, "But you'll start too soon, once your memory clears and I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to deal with it by yourself."

Andrew nodded and looked down and saw Gotham city below them and shuddered; it looked so dark it wasn't like Metropolis at all.

They were met by a distinguished looking older man who spoke in a British accent that Andrew found relaxing somehow and followed him into the car, he felt fine but Mr Wayne told him that he had to be in the wheelchair until his legs were strong enough again, though he was told that he'd have to walk with a cane from now on.

"Good evening Mr Wells I am Alfred Pennyworth, I'm sure you and I'll become close friends."

Andrew nodded and wondered why he was in Gotham anyways, did he live here? Oh god he hoped not as this place felt like hell on earth. As Alfred took him to a limousine and drove through the streets he looked at the dark alleyways and streets and shuddered a bit.

Bruce noticed the shuddering and said, "I know the city seems to be quite dark but there are good people here and they do their best to survive amongst the corruption and crime."

Andrew simply nodded and felt relieved that when the car left the inner city and towards a solitary manor on a hilltop, he mumbled, "Does Dracula live here?"

Alfred noted what Andrew had said and nodded, "Indeed, you might think that," while Bruce shook his head in quiet amusement.

"No Andrew, Dracula doesn't live here. This is Wayne Manor; my family's home," Bruce said, "It's over a hundred years old but don't worry you'll learn more about it."

"Alright," Andrew said as Bruce brought him in and he looked around in shock; it was beautiful inside though it also seemed so lonely and cold.

Bruce gave Andrew the tour and Andrew simply listened to what Bruce was talking about his family and nodded and suddenly Bruce's demeanour changed when Alfred passed him the phone and he gave the job of the tour to Alfred and apologized to Andrew.

Alfred smiled gently and said, "You shall learn to expect Master Bruce's sudden disappearances."

Andrew nodded as Alfred took him to the kitchen and asked, "Are you hungry?"

"Yes," Andrew said as Alfred smiled; it was so nice to have a young man in the house again.

"Is there something you wish?" Alfred asked, "Anything you like?"

Andrew had a slight flash of memory and remembered his Aunt making grilled cheese sandwiches for him when he was little and said, "Do you know how to make grilled cheese sandwiches?"

"Indeed I do," Alfred said as he began to prepare a frying pan, "Some of Master Bruce's wards enjoyed them and I trust you shall enjoy them as well."

As Andrew watched him cook Alfred noticed he was just quiet and he accepted that, Master Bruce was quiet as well.

Alfred told him about himself, about how the Wayne's hired him away from the royal family and the tragedy that happened when Bruce was still a child: his mother and father were killed in front of him.

"Oh!" Andrew said, "I'm sorry to hear that, it must have been so hard for him?"

"Indeed," Alfred replied, "The master wasn't quite the same again as it was quite hard on him."

Andrew bit into the sandwiches and moaned as they were so good; just the perfect type of buttery and cheesy, he whispered, 'They're so good!"

As Andrew ate Alfred looked at him and thought, 'The poor boy, to be traumatized by that madman, if only the law would do its job and lock that that monster up forever but no; they always put them in Arkham Asylum.'

Andrew used his cane to wander around for a couple of hours, when he was starting to get tired and he asked Alfred about where Bruce was and Alfred told him that Master Bruce kept late hours.

The next morning Andrew woke up to Alfred knocking on his door and letting him know that someone was here to see him.

He got up excitedly, put his clothes on and walked out slowly, as Alfred helped him downstairs he saw a young red haired woman in a wheelchair look up at him and smiled, she rolled over and said, "Hey, I'm Barbra Gordon, it's nice to meet you."

"Umm, hi," Andrew said as he took her hand.

She grinned at him at him and said, "You know I've been looking into your past and it's remarkably spotty but I can tell you that you were from Sunnydale, California."

"Really?" Andrew said excitedly, "Can we go there? I mean maybe someone there knows more about me."

Barbra winced with pain and said, "Not going to be possible; Sunnydale collapsed into a massive sinkhole a year and a half ago."

Andrew's face fell and he muttered, "I see, did you find out anything else about me?"

"No," Barbra said, "Any personal records and government records were destroyed in the collapse."

"Oh," Andrew said, a little upset.

"But," Barbra said, "I came because you and I have something in common," at Andrew's confused look she smiled, "We both survived the Joker's attack."

Andrew paled, he remembered what Mr Wayne had told him about the man and Barbra said, "He shot me point blank and after that I was paralyzed."

"And you," Barbra said, "He must have taken a liking to you," as she pointed and the angry red scar in the shape of a J on his face, "He wanted you to remember him."

"I don't," Andrew said, "Mr Wayne said the doctor told me that I have some sort of amnesia that my mind decided to protect me by shutting down my memories."

"Ohh!" Barbra winced again and said, "Be fortunate that you don't remember him after all, he'd be in your nightmares forever."

Andrew looked at Barbra, who had a smile on her face, and said, "Thank you for talking to me, I have talked to Mr Wayne but he went somewhere last night and hasn't come back yet."

Barbra frowned, she knew where he was; there was a League emergency last night and he was probably going to be gone for a couple of days, she shook her head and said, "He's been busy for quite a while so don't worry, I'll be in contact with him tonight."

They spent a couple of more hours talking and Barbra had to leave and she smiled at him and said, "Goodbye."

Andrew sighed; Mr Pennyworth was good company but he also wanted to ask Mr Wayne if he could find a way to find out more about his past.

A couple of days later Andrew was in the library reading a book when Alfred had told him that Master Wayne had come home.

Andrew walked in and saw a younger red haired man with Bruce, who looked up and said, "Mr Wells, this is a friend of mine: Wally West."

Wally looked up and flashed him a bright smile and said, "Hey man, how are you?"

"Oh," Andrew said, "Umm, I'm fine."

As Andrew backed away Wally winced; Bats had told them what happened to the kid and he felt bad for him and Wally had to fight not to wince at the scars covering his face, the Joker had done a real number on his face.

"Jeez," Wally said, "The poor kid."

"He's not that much younger than you," Bruce said.

"Yeah but," Wally said, "He seems so fragile and vulnerable, kind of makes your heart go out to the kid."

Bruce nodded and said, "That's why I invited you here; I need someone he can relate to and god knows it can't be me."

"Sure thing," Wally said, "But have you found anything about him other than his name?"

"No," Bruce said, "And Barbra didn't have much luck either, all we know is that he's from Sunnydale."

"Talk about luck of the draw!" Wally whistled out loud, "He survives Sunnydale and then he has to go to through this? Alright Bats, sure I'll try to be his friend and talk to him."

Bruce didn't say anything, he just nodded and Wally grinned and said, "A week at stately Wayne Manor and uncomfortable silences? It's a dream vacation," and suddenly sped off to get his stuff from his apartment.

"What have I done!" Bruce groaned. 

TBC 

Poll question: This is most likely going to be a slash relationship for Andrew later on, any ideas? 

Please rate and review.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Same as previous chapters. 

Chapter 3 

Bruce felt relieved that Andrew was bonding with Wally, it was going to make his road to recovery a bit easier but he was angry as none of his contacts could help him figure out why he couldn't find more information about Andrew's past.

He walked out of the Batcave when Wally dashed in, chewing on some beef jerky and said, "Bats, what up?"

"It's infuriating on how little information we have on Andrew Wells," Bruce said, "He's a mystery and his past? Well he has no past right now so I want to help him."

Wally nodded and said, "Come on Bats don't let this obsess you, I mean help Andrew move on and if he remembers, he remembers. If he doesn't…"

Bruce sighed and said, "It's this; what if he had someone who loves him or loved him or a family who misses him and there isn't even a missing person report in the FBI, Interpol or any other agencies."

"Well, like I said; we shouldn't worry him," Wally said, "I mean the kid's been through hell and he has no memories of what his life was like before."

"I know," Bruce said, "But he needs to remember and that way he can move on without of the fear of his past somehow biting him."

"But anyways," Wally said, "I'm going to take Andrew out to a mall or something just to get him out of this mausoleum; he has to learn to meet people again."

"Be careful Wally, I had to sit there with him while he bled once already, I don't want to have to do it again," Bruce said with a scowl

Wally nodded and said, "Don't worry, he's safe as safe can be with me."

Meanwhile Andrew was waiting quietly in the library, Wally wanted to go out today and he wasn't sure if he was ready as he was afraid: what if that Joker guy was out somehow? Though Alfred had informed him that the Joker was still in Arkham and he felt a bit better.

Wally ran up and said, "Alright Andrew, we're going to have a nice day out and maybe do some shopping."

Andrew nodded and as he walked past a reflective surface he saw his face; he hated mirrors now as they just showed his scarred face, he hid it and said, "No, I don't want to go out."

"Come on," Wally said, "I'll be there with you and if anyone recoils in horror I'll give them hell, alright?"

"Alright," Andrew said as Wally smiled and gave him his hand, they walked out of the manor and Andrew winced, the sunlight was so blinding.

"God," Wally said, "You really need to get out of Bruce's manor more often from now on so the sun doesn't hurt your eyes."

"I guess," Andrew said as they walked out to a car Alfred had pulled up in front of them.

Alfred smiled and said, "Ah, are we ready for our outing today?"

"Umm," Wally said, "I know how to drive, right Alfred?"

"Indeed sir," Alfred said in amusement, "But Master Bruce wishes Andrew to be safe and besides; it's my job to serve the needs of Master Bruce and his guests."

Andrew smiled, he still found Alfred's voice calming and his attitude relaxing but as he tried to focus on where he remembered it, it was like peering thru a very thick fog."

Wally smiled at Andrew, calming him down and said, "Don't worry about what about people think, it doesn't matter what they think, it's about what you think."

Bruce watched as the car sped off he knew they would have a good time as Wally and Alfred would make sure of it but he had to go back to researching Andrew's past as most of the information from Sunnydale wasn't reliable or even credible.

'How could one town have _this_ many accidental deaths _a year?_'Bruce thought, 'These people were either amongst the laziest dog owners with these many wild dogs and barbeque fork wielding street gangs there, it was like something was trying to cover up something there.'

Bruce sat back in his chair and rubbed his hands together, he had to look up any possible survivors of Sunnydale; perhaps he could find them and ask them about Andrew's past?

Thankfully there was a list of the survivors so that their families could look for survivors, he looked up the lists and frowned as there was no other Wells's in the list and groaned; every time he made some headway there was a new roadblock.

He looked up at the time and knew it was time to prepare to go patrolling and he left a note for Alfred, knowing full well that he would understand when they returned from the mall.

Meanwhile Andrew and Wally had gotten to the mall where Wally had suggested where they spend the day. Andrew gulped as he was afraid that people would simply avoid him.

Wally saw Andrew put on a large gray jacket and threw the hood up to hide his face; he smiled a bit and realized that Andrew would be terrified about showing his face off.

"Come on Andy," Wally said, "Let's go check out the video game store?" and took Andrew's hand to help him catch up.

Alfred followed close by, making sure that Wally didn't do anything to hurt Andrew in his excitement or move too fast for Andrew.

Andrew was doing his best to keep up with Wally, he was looking around, 'The mall seems safe,' he thought, 'But this city hardly seemed safe,' he remembered Alfred would make sure that he was safe at night.

As they walked to the store Wally was telling Andrew about his home in Keystone City; it seemed nice and he also told him about what they might be picking up from this store.

The store was a smaller independent one that had managed to collect some classic games Andrew walked about, looking at the games titles when a clerk came over and said, "Sir, please take off your hood."

Andrew shook his head and backed away, when the clerk removed the hood he turned green and said, "Jeez, who took a lawnmower to your face!"

Wally glanced over, hearing what the clerk said and walked over and said, "He's shy about those scars, maybe just let him wear the hood?"

"Jeez," the clerk muttered, "If I was him I'd wear a bag over my head and never show my face to the public again."

Andrew put the hood on and walked out slowly, not willing to let Wally or Alfred to see how much this affected him.

Alfred gave his best icy stare and followed Andrew out, Wally said, "You know what? I think I'll talk to your boss about your unprofessional conduct towards a customer."

"It's alright Master Andrew," Alfred said softly, "You shouldn't care about what others think of your physical appearance."

"I know," Andrew said with a sob, "But it's hard, do you know what I mean? I can almost ignore the scars if I don't see myself in the mirror."

"Indeed," Alfred said, "But one cannot hide from one's self for long and besides, Master Bruce is taking you to a surgeon who should remove the worst of the damage."

"It's also like this," Andrew said, "I'm not sure if I want to remember, I mean I probably didn't have any friends or family, wouldn't they have visited me in the hospital?"

Alfred couldn't answer that, the hospital in Gotham would have informed the proper people but, according to Master Bruce's connections there, he had not one visitor in the time he spent at Gotham General Hospital or in Metropolis.

"Oh now Andrew, you know that's not true," Andrew looked up and saw the nurse who was there at the hospital.

"Umm, Tara?" Andrew said, "Mr Wayne gave me your name and I never thanked you enough for helping me."

Tara smiled and said, "It's alright Andrew, you had other things on your mind at the time."

"Why are you here?" Andrew asked, "I thought you were in Metropolis?"

"I was," Tara said, "But I'm a temp; I go wherever they need me to go and they needed me here."

"It's nice to see you again," Andrew said as he wiped a tear from his eyes.

Tara smiled and said, "You have friends, maybe they don't know what happened. I mean who knows what's going on with them right now, right?"

Andrew nodded but wasn't sure about things just yet when Wally dashed up and said, "Well, I got some games," he looked at Tara and said, "Oh, hello Ma'am."

She smiled and passed Andrew a card and said, "Please call me if you want," and she smiled at Wally and Alfred and left.

"She seems nice," Wally said as they watched Tara walk off and he sat down next to Andrew and said, "Sorry, I didn't know that the guy would be that rude."

"My face probably just scared him," Andrew said as he took a look at the games that Wally bought for them and frowned; they were all racing games except for a couple of role-playing games.

Alfred smiled and said, "So, we should head back to the Manor, I believe we've had enough excitement for today."

Andrew nodded and they walked out to go home.

Meanwhile in Scotland, Buffy was sitting down doing some work and saw Xander come in, it had been months ago when Andrew agreed to go to Gotham to look for a newly awakened slayer and he hadn't been heard from since and things had happened: several apocalypses and the thing in LA, they had to go and help Angel with that and now they could look into what happened to Andrew.

Xander growled, "It's like he just disappeared Buff, I mean he sends reports all the time."

Buffy sighed, "I should've flat out refused to send him to Gotham, especially by himself, that city is horrible; there's psychos all around."

"I've been looking for him for months," Buffy said, "But he's disappeared of the face of the earth, we might have to face the fact that Andrew could be dead."

Xander frowned and said, "No, Andrew isn't dead."

"No, he isn't dead," they heard a voice call out.

They both looked up and saw a blonde woman and Xander whispered, "Tara?"

Buffy shook her head and said, "Are you the First?"

Tara smiled again and said, "No, I'm not the First. Of all the people the First mimicked, I wasn't one of its choices."

Xander walked over and put his hand on her shoulder and stepped back; he could feel her and said, "She's physical, I can touch her!"

Buffy froze, rushed over and hugged her and said, "It is you," and hugged her and whispered, "I've missed you so much."

"What's this about Andrew?" Buffy asked, "I mean, how do you know?"

"Umm, because I've been watching over him since he was attacked," Tara said softly, she noticed the dark looks on Xander and Buffy's faces and quickly added, "The one who attacked him is human but I doubt he is actually human anymore."

"Who attacked him?" Buffy said in a dark voice.

"First find him," Tara said, "He doesn't remember anything and then maybe you guys can talk revenge."

Buffy and Xander looked at each other and nodded; they were going to Gotham. 

TBC 

Poll question: Do you want Buffy and Xander to handle the Joker when he gets out? Or do you want Batman to handle him? When Buffy and Xander find Andrew how will they react to his scares and his memory problem? 

Please rate and review.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Same as previous chapters 

Chapter 4 

As he was on his patrol Bruce decided to stop by and see if Barbra had any luck with locating any of Andrew's relatives, he had found a few but their numbers or address's were invalid. As he walked in and Barbra looked back at him and said, "How's Andrew?"

"Fine, he went out with Wally today," Bruce said, "And yourself?"

"Good, I got hold of Andrew's brother, his name's Tucker but," Barbra said, "I'm not sure if Tucker could take care of Andrew right now and he didn't seem particularly concerned."

Bruce nodded and said, "If you have any more information please let me know Barbra," and turned to leave.

"Oh, Bruce," Barbra said, "I'm coming over to visit tomorrow, I'm worried about him so perhaps you should prepare guest quarters for me as I'll be staying there and helping him."

"That'd be fine Barbra," Bruce said as he walked out, "I'll send Alfred to pick up your things tomorrow."

Bruce got back out and smiled bitterly, he wished he could help Andrew more but with the blank spots in his life it was difficult to say at least.

He drove through the dark streets of Gotham, he got out and saw where Andrew was attacked and remembered the night he saw Andrew hanging from a street lamp; bleeding, the Joker laughing and telling him about how he had the perfect scream.

'Why should I even give him mercy?' Bruce groaned, 'He never gives mercy to any of his victims but,' as he thought, 'It's because I'm better than him.'

As he drove back to the manor he called Alfred and frowned at what Alfred had told him what happened in the mall, 'This is going to be a setback in Andrew's healing process,' he also informed him about Barbra coming to stay with him.

Alfred put the phone down and said, "Andrew, Master Bruce shall be home soon and it seems as Ms Barbra Gordon shall be staying with us for a while."

Andrew smiled slightly and said, "Oh I like her, she was nice to me."

"Indeed sir, I believe she feels a connection to you because you both survived the Joker's attack," Alfred said, "And now what shall we do about supper?"

Wally grinned and said, "How about pizza? We could order in."

Alfred frowned and said, "I can make a pizza and I dare say it shall be better than any store bought pizza."

Andrew smiled as best as he could and said, "That sounds good," and joined Wally in playing the game that he was starting.

As Alfred went back to work he smiled softly; it felt good to have guests in the house again, particularly the young. He wished that Andrew could stay for a while but he'd probably leave as soon as his memories came back.

Bruce came up and saw Alfred in the kitchen, baking and sniffed the air and smiled, "You're making pizza?"

"It was either that or let Wally order one of those take out places and I know how you hate them," Alfred said as he started to cut some fresh greens.

"Yes," Bruce said, "And about today? Thanks, your presence probably averted what could've been worse for his recovery."

Alfred simply smiled and Bruce saw Andrew and Wally playing some game on the TV and smiled; the boy was smiling again, which was good. Now he just needed a reason for him to smile when he found out his past.

Wally smiled at Bruce and walked over and said, "Did you hear about what happened today?"

Bruce nodded and said, "Thank you for helping him Wally."

"Hey, it's what I do," Wally said as he got back to playing the game with Andrew.

"It was more than that," Bruce said, "Andrew's recovery is still in a fragile place, right now he still needs a lot of support."

"Oh yeah, was there any information about his family?" Wally asked, "I mean they have to be concerned, right? That's why you were going to visit Barbra, right?"

"We found a brother," Bruce said, "But Tucker Wells doesn't seem to care about what happened to Andrew."

Wally frowned and thought, 'Jeez, poor kid, it sounds like his family didn't really care about him if that's his brother's reaction.'

"So we won't tell him about his brother, yet," Bruce said, "It would only hurt him further."

They had dinner and Andrew, who had been exhausted by the activities at the mall, went to bed early and sighed as he sank into the bed, he wished he could remember.

The next morning at the airport, Xander and Buffy had arrived. She frowned at the look of the city; it seemed like there was shadow over the city, even the sun somehow seemed muted a bit.

As they walked towards a cab Xander sniffed the air and said, "It feels like Sunnydale, doesn't it?"

Buffy nodded and said, "Yeah but without the Hellmouth, that's odd, right?"

"No, it's not odd," Tara said as she reappeared in front of them causing them both to jump back in surprise, she smiled and said, "This place has so much evil done in it that Gotham has created a pseudo hellmouth but without the dimensional walls weakening, what was done here was human evil done by human hands and all of the blood spilled here, innocent and guilty, has created an aura of pain and despair the likes that not even Sunnydale could hope to match."

Xander looked at the people passing by in their cars and on the roads and though, 'They looked normal,' but he could see a despair and sadness eating away at their innocence.

Tara looked at Xander and said, "It's sad but there are champions who hold back the night, they are strong people who fight against a tide of human evil."

Buffy shook her head and decided that she would pull Andrew out of this cesspool as fast as she could and, as far as she was concerned, this city was not something she ever wanted to stay in for any amount of time.

"So where are we going?" Xander asked, "I mean we have no idea where Andrew is."

"Wayne Manor," Tara said, "It's the home of someone who's been taking care of Andrew but you can't take him back yet," and she disappeared.

Buffy sighed and said, "It looks like we're going to Wayne Manor then," and she stopped a cab and said, "Wayne Manor please?"

The cabbie looked at them and shrugged, "Sure, I guess we can go there but you guys are going to have get past the fence by yourselves."

As the cab drove through the city Xander felt ill; there was a shadow over the city and what Tara had said was true: Sunnydale, at its worst, _never_ felt like this or could even come _close_ to the toxic aura of Gotham city.

They both looked wide eyed at the huge manor on top of the hill, Xander muttered, "It looks like Dracula's living here."

Buffy kicked Xander in the shin and said, "It's not nice to say that, no matter how true it is."

Xander shrugged and said, "It's the truth, this place is freaking scary looking," as they walked up to the gate and Buffy paid the cab and they rang the electric alarm.

A distinguished British voice sounded over the intercom and said, "Hello? May I inquire who is calling?"

"Hi, I'm Buffy Summers and this is Xander Harris, we heard from a friend that one of our friends is here and we just want to make sure that he's alright."

The voice was replaced by a smooth sounding voice and said, "Andrew Wells? You're looking for him?"

"Yes," Buffy said, "We just want to make sure he's alright."

Bruce looked at Andrew, who was playing games with Wally, and thought, "If they knew anything about Andrew then they could help him,' he unlocked the gate and said, "Come in."

As they marched up the hill towards the place Xander grumbled and said, "Any moment from now I'm expecting the other shoe to drop, I mean this Bruce Wayne could be a lunatic."

"That's not nice," Buffy said, "I've done research on him before," at Xander's look she blushed and said, "I had a bit of a crush on him when I was younger."

Xander groaned as they finally got up to the front door and knocked on the huge wooden door, Alfred opened the door and looked at them and said, "If you wanted a lift up you could have requested one."

"What?" Xander coughed out, "And miss the half mile of hiking up here with heavy suitcases? Where would the fun be in that?" as he suddenly collapsed on his suitcase.

Alfred looked at Xander and said, "Quite, sir," and took the suitcases; he looked at Buffy and said, "Would madam like me to take her suitcases too?"

Buffy smiled a bit at his accent as it reminded her of Giles; he was polite. She smiled and said, "No thanks, I can handle my own luggage," and walked up and picked Xander's suitcases up too and said, "Please, could you show us where Andrew is?"

"Indeed Madam," Alfred said as he helped Xander up and said, "Follow me."

Bruce, however, was getting ready to meet them and he had brought Andrew in and told him to stay hidden until he was sure that they were friends. He saw the door open and Alfred lead two young people in and he regarded them carefully: a young woman that couldn't be more than twenty-two years old, as he looked at the boy with her and thought, 'One eye? Interesting, both carried themselves like fighters,' he got up and said welcome to Wayne Manor Ms Summers Mr Harris.

Buffy shook her head and said, "Thank you for having us and could you show us where Andrew Wells is?"

"I'd like to ask how you found out that Andrew was staying here?" Bruce said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "His staying here isn't public knowledge."

"Umm," Buffy said as she looked at Xander, who shrugged and she shook her head and said, "It's like this; the nurse who worked with Andrew is an old friend of ours, she told us when she confirmed who he was."

"That seems reasonable," Bruce said knowing full well that they weren't telling him the complete truth, he called for Andrew and would gauge their reactions to him and how they greeted him but before Andrew could come in he said, "Don't be alarmed at his appearance, he's sensitive about how he looks."

Xander looked at him and said, "He didn't care that I have only one eye."

As Andrew walked in Buffy gasped, he was using a cane? He was keeping his face down and Xander frowned, he wasn't this shy.

He walked towards them and said, "Hello." As he lifted his face up they both hissed in rage as his face was covered in scars, the most prominent scar was a large J carved into his cheek.

"Jeez!" Xander growled, "Who did this to him?" This is disgusting, not even Angelus was capable of doing this."

Bruce smiled at their reactions as they seemed to be friends and said, "A madman called the Joker, he had Andrew for about fifteen minutes before Batman got to him."

Xander shook his head and said, "Why didn't he just fucking kill Andrew? I mean why did he keep him alive? Not that I'm complaining."

"It's like this; the Joker, at his latest trial, reminisced quite fondly about Andrew and I quote: 'That kid had the perfect scream; his body was the canvas and my knife was the paintbrush,'" Bruce said, "He wanted Andrew to remember him for the rest of his life."

Buffy ran over and hugged Andrew and whispered, "I'm so sorry we didn't send anyone with you."

"Umm," Andrew said, "Who are you?"

Both Xander and Buffy looked stricken and Xander growled, "Why doesn't he remember?"

Bruce looked at them and said, "It's amnesia; his mind shut down his memories so he can't recall anything past the time when he woke up."

Buffy sat next to Andrew and said, "We'll make sure your memories return, I promise but we'll do it at your speed not ours."

Xander looked out the window and said, "When I find this Joker he is going to be so dead!"

"Please leave him to the police and Batman," Bruce said, "You can't even comprehend the level of evil that man is capable of."

"_**No!**_"Xander screamed, "They didn't do what should've been done. That fucking bastard's going _**down!**_"

Bruce looked into Xander's eye and froze: the way he carried himself and how he was acting, Xander reminded him of Jason Todd and he would do his best to make sure Xander Harris didn't find the Joker, or worse; he didn't come across Jason's path and shuddered the idea, if the two of them teamed up it could be bad.

Xander stared back at Bruce and said, "If you know this Batman then tell him to stay out of my way if he isn't going to help me."

Alfred walked in and said, "If you are staying, Mr Harris, might I show you and Ms Summers to your rooms? That way you can continue this conversation.

Andrew looked at the one-eyed man and shuddered, 'This guy is scary.'

Xander looked at Andrew, he paled and smiled and said, "Sorry Andy, didn't mean to scare you."

Bruce was taken aback, 'How could he change his personality just like _that_? I'd have to keep an eye on him.' 

TBC 

A/N: Jason Todd was Dick Grayson's replacement for Batman's sidekick until he was killed by the Joker when he blew up a building with him in it. But he got better and turned into a violent version of Batman called the Red Hood. Also Nightwing will make his appearance soon. 

Poll question: Should Jason help out Xander to find the Joker or hinder him? 

Please rate and review.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Same as previous chapters. 

Chapter 5 

Buffy brought some of Andrew's things from the castle in Scotland and he was looking at some photos she brought over, he smiled at some of the photos and said, "Who are these people in here with me?"

"That's my sister Dawn and that's Faith, they kind of took a liking to you," Buffy said, "And you dragged them to George Lucas's ranch for a tour, they pretended to be mad with you but they had fun."

Andrew frowned, 'Why did I want to go to the guy, who directed Star wars, place?' he looked at Xander who was simply watching him.

Xander looked at Andrew and he frowned, Andrew shouldn't have had this done to him as he was scarred beyond physical, he couldn't even remember bonding with him over Babylon 5 or even liking science fiction shows or movies. God help him, he _wanted_ the old annoying Andrew back, the one who could babble on for hours on end about things, this Andrew was shy and withdrawn and he barely looked people in the eyes and Xander could tell that he was scared of him.

Andrew looked up at Xander nervously as he couldn't read the man, he said that they were friends but there was something about Xander that scared him, whenever Xander came close to him he tried to get close to Buffy.

Buffy saw that Xander was getting upset by the fact that Andrew was afraid of him and she smiled, "Xander's not going to hurt you Andrew."

"But how do I know that Xander won't hurt me? Whenever he looks at me he looks angry," Andrew said.

"No," Xander said, "I'm not angry at you Andrew, I'm mad that we let this happen, we knew this place was dangerous and we let you go by yourself."

"Umm, didn't you guys care about?" me Andrew said in a small voice, "Did I do something bad to you?"

"You made mistakes Andrew," Xander said, "But you've done a great deal to redeem yourself and we won't bring up the mistakes of the past again."

Andrew flinched when Xander touched him, he whispered, "Please don't touch me, I don't like it too much anymore."

Xander held his hand back and he whispered, "What happened to the man who gave hugs to comfort people?" His face darkened; the Joker was going to _fucking pay_ evenif he had to _tear_ into Arkham and _choke_ the life from that fucking clown's body.

Buffy held Xander's hand and felt the tremble and whispered, "Xander, you're scaring him!"

"I'm sorry Buffy," Xander said, "But this guy needs to be taken down and if this Batman won't do it, I'm going to do it."

Andrew looked up at Xander wide eyed, his eyes showing more fear of Xander than he should have. He looked at Xander and said, "Why do you want to kill him?"

"Because," Xander said, "He hurt you and he hurt you badly and," as he looked at Andrew and gently reached out and touched the J carved on his cheek, which caused him to flinch, "I'm going to kill him," and he left the room.

Andrew's eyes were full of tears; he looked at Buffy and said, "I don't want him to get into trouble, why does he have to kill?"

Buffy's eyes were sad and she whispered, "Because he's your friend and you were hurt and he wasn't here to protect you."

"But it wasn't his fault," Andrew surmised, "He obviously didn't come with me, right?"

"It's because he feels that you shouldn't have come here by yourself," Buffy said, "Quite a few of us thought that."

"Then you didn't think I could handle myself?" Andrew said, "For whatever I was doing here?"

"No," Buffy said, "I wouldn't have sent anyone here, especially alone."

As Andrew and Buffy were talking, Xander was storming out when Bruce stopped him and said, "Mr Harris, where are you going?"

"None of your goddamned business," Xander snarled out angrily.

"You're going to Arkham?" Bruce said, "Am I correct?"

"Maybe," Xander said, trying to get past him.

"You know they won't let you in," Bruce said, "Especially if you're going to kill an inmate, you aren't the first one to try this."

"Yeah," Xander said with a smirk, "But I'm going to be the first one to succeed," and he pushed past Bruce.

Xander walked out and sniffed the air and knew he would have blood on his hands tonight and the thought didn't frighten him but he decided that he would go to a weapon store first.

As he walked through the dark streets of Gotham he looked around warily and thought, 'Andrew must have felt so alone when that madman got him and so afraid,' he muttered, "That man isn't going to kill anyone anymore!"

He walked into a gun store and saw a massive collection of knives and guns; he brought out his council credit card and bought a great deal of guns and knives.

Xander walked out and heard the flap of a cape and saw two people in front of him, he looked at them and said, "Batman and Nightwing?"

Batman looked at Xander and said, "You're Xander Harris, right?"

"Yes," Xander snarled, "And by the way, I've been wanting to talk to you about you not killing that bastard."

Batman simply looked at him and Xander said, "You couldn't have killed the Joker, why?"

"Because I could slip so easily," Batman said, "And you, Mr Harris, what will be your rationale for killing the next one?"

"I'm only going to kill the Joker," Xander said, "And then I'm going to make sure Andrew's better again."

"Then tell me something; why is Andrew afraid of you Mr Harris? He flinches at your touch. Your revenge," Batman said, "Will cost you the one whose behalf you're doing this for."

Xander froze and said, "No, I'm going to kill him," and walked away, trying not to let Batman's words get to him and he suddenly wondered, 'How did he know about Andrew being afraid of me?'

Nightwing yelled out, "Mr Harris, where's this revenge going to take you?"

Xander ran off into the night as he was blinded by rage; he needed to kill this fucker and he suddenly saw Andrew's scarred face in his minds eye, looking at him with wide eyes and froze. He wouldn't kill the Joker, he'd wait until the fucker got out of that Arkham place and then he'd hunt the guy down and kill him but he wouldn't kill innocent people to get to the man.

He called a cab to take him back to the Manor and smiled grimly, the Joker's days were numbered.

Meanwhile at the mansion, Wally and Buffy were both doing their best to cheer Andrew up.

Wally looked at Buffy and said, "Honestly, would your friend go on a killing spree just for revenge?"

Buffy nodded and said, "Xander forms close attachments with his friends and he and Andrew bonded over their love of games and science fiction shows, when Andrew disappeared he was going to come here by himself and look for him but then things happened and we couldn't even look."

"Well," Wally said, "Bruce moved Andrew to Metropolis so he could be safe so even if you guys came back to look for him you wouldn't have found him."

Andrew was doing his best to ignore what Buffy and Wally were talking about; he didn't like trying to remember what happened or what happened while he was sleeping.

Buffy looked at Andrew and said, "It's going to be alright Andrew, I promise you're going to remember soon."

"I'm going to go to bed, I'm tired," Andrew said softly, "I just want to sleep."

Alfred walked up behind him and said, "Remember Master Andrew; don't force yourself to remember, go at your own choice."

Andrew nodded and said, "Thanks Alfred," and headed to his room when he heard the door open and saw Xander come in; he quickly hastened up the stairs to avoid being seen by Xander.

Xander looked up and saw Andrew running away from him and nearly choked, 'Is he that terrified of me?'

Andrew ran into his room and put his cane down when he heard a knock on the door and heard Xander's voice on the other side saying, "Andrew, if you're afraid of me I'll stay away if you want."

Buffy saw Xander walk away and said, "I was sure that you were going to break into that Arkham place and kill the Joker?"

"Yeah, well I figured I'd kill him when he gets out of the place," Xander said, "But first I want to make sure that Andrew's not afraid of me anymore."

"So he's afraid of you," Buffy said, "I mean you have been angry and snarling half the time and you expect him to be your friend when all he has been seeing of you is your anger?"

Andrew walked out and said, "I'm sorry Xander, I'll try to hang out with you more often. Just give me time to get to know you again?"

Xander nodded and walked over to him slowly and hugged him, he frowned a bit when he flinched, "Don't worry Andrew," Xander said, "I'm going to make sure that clown pays for what he did to you."

Andrew walked off when Xander let him go and walked in to his room, Buffy looked at Xander's face and said, "It's going to be alright, we're going to take it slowly here."

"I know," Xander said, "But did I tell you that I met that Batman guy?"

"No," Buffy said, "Now that had to be interesting; you've been talking about meeting him for years, you've always been watching those news reports about the Justice League. How was it, meeting someone you've always wanted to meet?"

Xander laughed bitterly and said, "I respect the guy but he should've killed the Joker years ago as that guy has filled graveyards, Batman could've stopped this just by killing him but he's lost the right to handle the Joker."

Buffy sighed and said, "Let's handle Andrew first; he needs us to be there for him."

"Yeah, I know Buffy," Xander said, "But if the Joker gets out, he's dead and I'm doing this for Andrew, he needs to know that the Joker isn't out there anymore."

"Well," Buffy said, "I'm not going to try to stop you and I'll tell you that I'm not happy with your choice but at least wait until he's out of Arkham."

Xander flashed her a grin and said, "You know I'll wait until the bastard gets out, I'm going to kill the bastard but I'm not going to kill innocent people to get to him."

Alfred came up and said, "May I suggest you all turn in, it is rather late."

As Xander walked past him Alfred said, "Master Alexander, please be careful about the path you are taking. I believe the world would be a better place if the Joker was killed but it is a dark path you're traveling down, so please be careful."

Xander grinned and said, "It's my path to walk and I stand by what I've said; the Joker's going down when he gets out of Arkham."

They walked downstairs and saw Bruce talking to a man, he called Xander down and said, "This is one of my friends; Dick Grayson."

Dick smiled and said, "It's nice to meet you."

Meanwhile at Arkham, the Joker was bored as Arkham hadn't changed much, he was going to have to leave soon as he wanted to see that little screamer again; he giggled madly, he so hoped he remembered him?

'Hmm,' Joker thought to himself, 'I should've remembered to ask him his name but I was busy at the time carving him,' "Eheehehehehe," the Joker chuckled, he had to find him again make him bleed and find a way to play with him more, 'I autographed his face, maybe this time I could autograph his back, in nice big letters: 'Property of Joker.''

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a lock being opened; he looked up and said, "Who's there?"

He was happy to hear, "Hey Mistah J, I came to bust you outta this dump."

"Oh, Harley," he giggled, "You are too good to me," as he saw her come out and grinned at him.

"Don't you know it Mistah J," Harley giggled, "But we better lay low as the bat's going to be on the lookout for us."

"Yeah, I suppose we can lay low for awhile but there's someone I want to find," Joker giggled at Harley's look of confusion, "The kid I played with, I've decided I want to take him with us and play with him more and more."

"Why do you want the kid?" Harley asked, a bit more confused.

"Because," Joker said to himself, "Because I love his screams." 

TBC 

Poll question: So the Joker got out of prison with the help of Harley, do you guys still want Xander to kill him or just really hurt him? Still looking for pairings so any suggestions will be welcome. I hoe this chapter was alright. 

Please rate and review.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Same as previous chapters. 

Chapter 6 

The next morning Andrew woke up, got his cane and walked out, he saw Xander walking down the hallway wearing pyjamas that had teddy bears printed on them, Andrew began to giggle softly as it seemed so out of place on him.

Xander looked back and heard and saw Andrew giggling, he smiled and said, "Something funny?"

Andrew nodded and pointed at the teddy bear pyjamas; Xander gave him a mock glare and said, "Hey, they're alright."

"But," Andrew said, "They don't match your personality."

"And what is my personality Andrew?" Xander asked with a smile.

"Because you seem so angry all the time or at least from what I can see," Andrew said, still giggling.

"I'm angry because you got hurt and I wasn't there, we had no idea that you were even alive," Xander said, "You did have some friends where we worked."

"Buffy was showing me some pictures of me and you guys, I just can't put names to the pictures she keeps showing me," Andrew said.

"How about I show you some pictures," Xander said, "And then I can help you put some names to those faces."

Andrew nodded and Xander took him by the hand to Buffy's room, who smiled at them together and she said, "So what are you two guys up to?"

"I'm going to show Andrew some more pictures," Xander said, "And see if some of them jog his memories."

Buffy brought out the pictures and Xander began to show Andrew pictures of them hanging out with each other, they were in front of a large group of people wearing weird clothes. Andrew looked at Xander, who smiled and said, "You're a geek Andrew, hell I'm a geek too."

"I'm not even sure I like these things anymore," Andrew said, Xander's face fell a bit as Buffy smiled and calmed him down.

As they were talking Bruce was down in the Batcave talking things over with Dick and Barbra, they had just heard about the Joker escaping Arkham and Barbra was screaming with rage she was livid about the security of that place.

Dick was doing his best to calm her down and said, "Babs it's alright, we aren't going to let him do too much damage."

Barbra said, "No, not again. You heard him at court; he's going to go for Andrew, he has some sick fascination with him."

"Because Andrew's screams caused him great enjoyment," Bruce said, "And according to the few therapists who were trying to treat him said, and I quote; 'His obsession with Andrew Wells is almost as bad as his obsession with myself.'"

"Then get out there," Barbra said, "Before he decides that he wants to take Andrew and toy with him and then we're going to find his mutilated body or worse, he'll be in worse condition than he is now."

Dick nodded his agreement and said, "I'll follow Andrew wherever he goes, we won't leave him alone."

"And there is the matter of Xander Harris," Bruce said, "He'll go into a rage when he finds out that the Joker is free."

Barbra looked up and said, "We're telling him, it'll be worse for us if he finds out by himself," as she rolled upstairs and before Bruce could stop her she was upstairs.

Bruce looked at Dick and said, "This is going to go well."

Xander was still showing Andrew some pictures, he and Andrew were getting closer when he heard someone knock on the door. Andrew opened the door and saw Barbra, who gave him a hug and said, "Hey Andrew, how's it going?"

"Umm, alright Barbra," Andrew said, "I'm sorry I didn't see you last night, I was really tired."

Barbra smiled and said, "It's alright, I was busy anyways but I got some bad news for you and I didn't want you hearing about it on the news but the Joker escaped from Arkham."

Xander smile faded as she continued, 'The Joker was free?' he thought. His eye darkened and he saw that Andrew was pale; he put his arm around Andrew and whispered, "Don't worry, this time you aren't alone."

Buffy hugged Andrew and said, "Don't worry Andrew you're safe, I promise we won't let him anywhere near you, I promise."

Alfred listened in and prayed that Bruce would catch Joker before Xander did anything he might regret later though, as he looked at Xander's eye, he realized that he wouldn't regret anything that he might do to the Joker.

Andrew was in shock, 'I can't even remember the attack and now this guy might be coming for me now?' he thought as he felt Xander's hand on his shoulder.

Xander said, "Someone take him out of the city to anyplace else."

Dick smiled and said, "Wally and I can take him somewhere else that should keep him away from that psycho."

"Yeah," Wally said, "I got a pretty nice place in Keystone City you'll like."

As Andrew was being led away by Wally and Dick, Buffy looked at Xander and said, "Please be careful, Andrew's feeling bad enough so don't let him see you being led away in handcuffs on TV as it would be devastating for him."

Xander nodded and said, "Don't worry they won't catch me, I promise."

Bruce looked concerned at what Xander said; he could see so much of himself in that young man right now only more brutal, like Jason is. He grew concerned about what he could do if not reined in.

Andrew was packing up while Wally smiled and said, "Don't worry Andy, my place is like one of the safest places ever, the Joker very rarely leaves Gotham."

"Alright," Andrew said as Wally took the luggage, Dick picked him up and Andrew groaned, "I can walk you know?"

"Yeah but I can't let you get too tired," Dick said, "And besides, I promised Bruce that I'd keep you safe and some friends are going to meet us there."

Andrew simply looked puzzled as he was being carried out by Dick, he saw Xander and Buffy talking about something and Xander looked upset while Buffy looked even more upset but he didn't quite know why yet.

Xander was getting ready to go out, he looked at Buffy and said, "Please go with Andrew, he's going to need you to be with him and those guys."

Buffy nodded and said, "Remember what I said: be careful alright? Remember, don't go down this path and don't get hurt."

"I'm not going to let revenge take control of me Buffy and besides," Xander said with a grin, "I might not even kill the bastard, though I am going to hurt him and he's going to _wish_ for death."

As Buffy watched Xander walk outside she grew worried about him as this Joker was worse than a lot of demons they have fought before. She walked out and saw Andrew in Wally's car, she was about to join him when Alfred came up and said, "Do not worry about Xander, I shall watch over him," she looked confused and he added, "I've become quite accustomed to helping young men like your friend and I shall endeavour to make sure he does not fall from his path."

Buffy hugged him and said, "Please help him."

Alfred nodded as she left to join Master Wally and Dick and said, "I shall watch over him, I promise you."

Xander was watching Andrew leave and he looked at Gotham and began his hunt, his eye flashed green and the remnants of the Hyena snarled within him. He wouldn't let Buffy taint herself with blood on her hands even though he had a feeling that she wanted to join him on the hunt to deal to the Joker a portion of what he had done to the world.

Batman was following Xander and he was impressed; Xander was moving like a hunter hunting his prey and he knew all too well who was his prey today, he leapt towards another building and saw Xander question some of the local gangs about wherever the Joker could be hiding.

Barbra was giving Batman the latest information about where the Joker could be and he was making sure that he could get to the Joker before Xander would get hurt or worst because of what the Joker could do. "Look," Barbra said, "He might be able to actually do it; he could rid us of the Joker."

"That's what I am afraid of," Batman said softly, "It's a slippery road to becoming like Jason and Xander is on that road."

"Then," Barbra said, "Make sure he has the proper guidance and training, I personally think that he has potential."

"I agree with you on that Barbra," Batman said, "But first we deal with the Joker." 

TBC 

A/N: I'll explain what Batman and Xander will be doing to the Joker tomorrow, he will not kill the Joker just hurt him and make sure that the Joker won't be able to hurt anyone anymore. Before I finalize the pairings that will appear in this story do you have any ideas for pairings? 

Please rate and review.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Same as the previous chapters. 

Chapter 7 

Andrew was in the car with Buffy, Wally and Dick, he was trying to sleep but he couldn't; he felt like something was about to break open and he kind of missed Xander when a flash of memory hit him.

He was walking down a hallway when he saw a brown headed girl walking towards him and pulled him into a corner saying, "Hey Andrew, I got some orders for you; they came from Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies."

"What orders Kennedy?" Andrew asked as he took a look at the note, 'They're sending me to Gotham City by myself, to find a slayer that was just detected.'

"Yeah," Kennedy said, "I guess they think you've earned a chance to do this by yourself."

Andrew smiled brightly and ran off but as he ran off he heard her talking on the phone, something about... he couldn't quite hear her.

He woke up and looked at Buffy and said, "Did you guys send me here? To find something called a Slayer?"

Buffy froze, she looked at the other two men in the car and neither of them were paying attention. She shook her head and said, "Honestly, Xander and I only found out after you left as Kennedy had informed us you left and…" suddenly she gasped, "Are you starting to remember?"

Andrew looked confused, he shook his head and said, "Bits and pieces: I was in a big castle," Buffy smiled and nodded, "There were a lot of people around."

"Good," Buffy said, "Just go at your pace," and held Andrew close to her, "Don't try to remember too much."

He nodded and went back to sleep as she held him, Wally looked back and smiled a bit, 'He looks so happy right now and maybe he could heal.'

Andrew went back to dreaming and he was walking around in a large empty black area, he felt alone when he saw a flash of white light and saw Tara smiling at him gently. She walked over and said, "You're never alone Andrew and I got permission to restore your memories to you, if you want that is."

"I guess so," Andrew said, "But I'm not sure I want to take the easy way out."

Tara looked at him and said, "It's like this; you need to remember and I want you to remember who you are."

Andrew nodded and she rubbed his head and said, "Remember Andrew, remember everything, I'll be here with you so nothing can hurt you."

Buffy saw Andrew fidget slightly in his sleep and go still again, his eyes moved rapidly underneath his eyelids.

"Oh god!" Andrew collapsed underneath the memories that were crushing him; his absent parents, Jonathon, "Oh great god," Andrew sobbed, "I killed him!"

"It's alright," Tara said, "You're earning your redemption and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"But," Andrew sobbed, "I killed my best friend, how could Buffy and Xander even care about me?"

"Because," Tara said, "They honestly like the man you've become and because you weren't looking for the easy way out to redeem yourself and trust me, redemption isn't easy. If it was then everyone would be earning it."

"So, did I deserve what the Joker did to me?" Andrew asked, "I mean I did kill someone."

"No, you didn't deserve an attack like that," Tara said, "In fact no one deserves to have that done to them. Now," Tara said, "Wake up."

"Come on Andrew, wake up," Buffy said, "We're stopping for lunch."

He woke up and said, "I'm hungry, like _really_ hungry."

As they walked into the diner and they sat at a table and Buffy watched Andrew order his favourites and she said hopefully, "Do you remember something?"

Andrew looked up and said, "Buffy, I'm starting to remember everything now and everything I did."

Buffy froze and said, "Andrew, are you alright? Remember, you're a different person now, you aren't the same troubled person who wants to become a super villain."

Wally and Dick looked at each other, Buffy smiled and said, "Let's just say that he made some mistakes in the past and I personally don't think they should be held against him."

Dick looked surprised and he thought, 'He just remembered things just like _that_? How does that happen? It seems kind of odd.'

Buffy simply smiled and said, "Sometimes miracles happen and this might be one of them, right?"

"Uh huh," Wally said, "Hmm, its Buffy, right?" She nodded and Wally grinned, "Are you single?"

"Oh, umm, yeah," Buffy said with a blush, "I am single."

"Good," Wally said, "Just asking cause I'd like to show you the sights of Keystone and besides, there won't be much to do unless you want to watch us play video games."

She smiled and said, "Um, sure, that would be good." As their food came she watched Andrew carefully, she was praying that his memories were not returning all at once but she was going to stay by his side tonight just in case he remembered too much, too fast.

As they ate Dick was asking all sorts of questions and Buffy made a point of giving Dick a glare if the questions were a bit too nosey, especially if it was about council business.

Dick nodded at the answers and decided that Andrew was just trying to leave his past behind and besides, that woman wasn't going to let him ask too many questions.

Andrew was eating his burger looking at the others, the memories were coming back slowly but he had lingered on his mistakes like how he let Warren manipulate him into loving him, he felt Buffy's hand on his knee and she smiled at him.

"Well," Wally said, "We'll stop for the night here; I think we've been on the road long enough."

The others nodded agreement and Dick said, "So, we'll split between two rooms?"

Buffy nodded and they paid for their dinner and headed to the next door motel, Andrew was waiting by a door when Buffy came by with a key for them and she dragged him into the room to talk to him about what had happened to them while he had been gone.

Andrew looked at Buffy and said, "Okay, memory loss aside: why is Xander so dark recently? I mean he has a dark side but I haven't seen him this bad."

"Well, in the months you were gone," Buffy said sadly, "It was bad for us; first we had to help Angel with Wolfram and Hart, he made a deal that went badly."

"Is Spike alright?" Andrew asked, "I liked him, he was funny."

"Yeah, he's alright but," Buffy said, "We lost Wesley, one of Angel's friends gave up and left and Angel nearly lost his son."

Andrew looked confused, "His son! He said with confusion, "I thought vampires couldn't have children?"

"Normally they can't," Buffy said, "But his son, Connor, is a miracle child and we've been reading up on prophecies about him but other than the fact that they suffered a lot of losses they are alright now and LA is safe."

Buffy noticed that Andrew was still unsure about why Xander was so much darker natured, she sighed and said, "Xander's like this because when we went in, we went in with an army of slayers; quite a few from Sunnydale and more we found later and we came with back with ten of them."

Andrew winced with pain, 'That had to be hard,' he still couldn't remember too much as the memories that were coming back were jumbled and he was still trying sort the real ones from others.

"So," Buffy said, "Xander took the losses hard, really hard. It made him bitter, angry and Giles actually ordered him to Africa so he could blow off steam, he came back more grim but he was calmer but he would do things that the old Xander wouldn't think of doing before."

Andrew's eyes began to tear up and Buffy moved over to calm him down, Andrew looked at her and said, "Xander really shouldn't be like this, I always thought he would be better than this."

"People change," Buffy said, "If you had been with us you might've have changed too. Xander became more aggressive and he's become very protective of everyone in the NWC and he's willing to kill. Okay, there was a young slayer that lived with an abusive family and well," Buffy said, "It's just a good thing that the people in the village actually stood with Xander when the police arrived and when it had gone so long without contact with you, he got more aggressive."

Andrew looked at her and decided that he wasn't sure if he liked aggressive Xander, he liked the sweet kind Xander he had seen in Sunnydale.

Buffy smiled and said, "You know what? I miss the old Xander too; the new one is a bit dark for my tastes."

"Now, what about Willow?" Andrew said, "I haven't heard anything about her."

"Hmm," Buffy said, "She's still with Kennedy and that's all we know, Kennedy doesn't let anyone near her alone, hell I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen her but we see Kennedy all the time."

"Kennedy?" Andrew said to himself, "She's the one who told me to come here; she said that you guys told her to tell me to go."

"_**No way!**_"Buffy screamed, "Xander and I were dead set about anyone going to Gotham by themselves, we were going to send a fully trained team, not one guy. Hell, Giles even said that we should wait."

Andrew looked confused as Buffy knew she was going to have words with Kennedy right after she was done here and it wasn't going to be a good talk either.

"I hope that Xander's alright?" Andrew said, "I know he's a big tough watcher man now but is he ready for what the Joker can do? I don't want him getting hurt or worse."

Buffy smiled sadly and said, "I just hope he's careful." 

TBC 

A/N: Soon I will write about what Xander does to the Joker, the Joker will live but it won't be a pretty life. 

Please rate and review.


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